Gadgets
R&D spend may remain below 1% of GDP even after 25 years: Economic Survey
New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS) Already lagging behind many in expenditure towards research in science and technologies, India may take years — more than 25 years at current rate of its GDP and spending on R&D — before it touches even one per cent as contribution of GDP towards research, according to the Economic Survey 2017-18 released on Monday.
Spending about 0.6 per cent of its total Gross Development Production (GDP) towards Research and Development (R&D), India “at its current rate … would barely reach GERD (Gross Expenditure on R&D) of one per cent of GDP by the time it is as rich as the US”, read the report.
Using a “development time” model — which allows one to compare country’s spending as a portion of its GDP irrespective of income groups — the report concluded that India “currently underspends even relative to its income”.
Going by what Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said last week about India being on its way to becoming “one of the largest three economies in the world” in 25 years, it is fair to conclude that it would still be far behind US’s GDP size and its contribution to research as portion of GDP still less than one per cent after 25 years from now.
According to the report, India’s contribution towards research is “well below” that of “major nations”, with the US contributing 2.8, China 2.1, Israel 4.3 and Korea 4.2 per cent of their GDPs towards science.
Although in real terms, India has doubled its spending on R&D, as a percentage of GDP, its spending has been stagnant at 0.6 and 0.7 in last one decade.
The report pointed out how a dominant bulk of spending on research funding comes from the central government (more than 50 per cent) unlike China, the US, Germany and Korea — where government contribution was nearly equal to or less than 10 per cent, with the major funding coming from businesses and industries.
On the whole, emphasising on the increase in overall spending in real terms, a government official conceded that western pattern in research is different from India’s.
“Major difference between western countries and India is that private sector in the West invests a lot in research and development. In West, about two-thirds is invested by the private sector and one-third by the government, however this is roughly opposite in India…
“The GDP of India is rising faster than the western world, so the actual money spent over research and development is increasing,” Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary at Department of Science and Technology, told IANS.
The writers of the report also expressed their concern at the research fund contributed (the least among government agencies) by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), considering the “health challenges” being faced by the nation.
“Given the country’s severe health challenges, the low — and virtually stagnant in real terms — budget of the ICMR is striking,” it read.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Rs 13,258 crore and Department of Space (DoS) at Rs 5,818 crore were the top two government agencies with funding.
–IANS
kd-vn/him/nir
Business
Apple is giving a huge discount on its gadgets: Details inside
If you want to buy an iPhone and were waiting for a nice offer, then we have a piece of good news for you! Amazon Summer Sale May 2022 has begun and they are offering major discounts on various smartphones, laptops, and smart TVs, among others.
The sale is live now on the e-commerce platform with no-cost EMI options and exchange discounts on various products. In addition to this, Amazon has also partnered with several banks including ICICI, Kotak Bank, and RBL so that customers get instant discounts of up to 10% using their cards and EMI transactions.
Customers can easily enjoy this summer sale and get massive discounts on iPhones. They can also compare prices on Flipkart Big Saving Days Sale 2022 before making a purchase.
Amazon Summer Sale May 2022: Discount offer on iPhone 13
Apple’s coveted phone model iPhone 13 in the 128 GB storage model will be available during the Amazon Summer Sale May 2022 for Rs 64,900. The MRP of the phone is Rs 79,900. This means that the customers will be able to enjoy a discount of up to Rs 15,000 on the purchase of the iPhone 13.
If you have an old iPhone in working condition then you will also be eligible to receive another additional discount worth up to Rs 17,000 on the iPhone 13.
Buy at Rs. 64,900 (MRP – Rs. 79,900)
Features of Apple iPhone 13
The iPhone is powered by an A15 Bionic processor with 6 core CPU. Apart from this, it has 16 core neural engines. With the iPhone 13, up to 512 GB of storage will be available. The iPhone 13 has a 6.1-inch Retina XDR display with 1000 nits brightness.
The iPhone 13 has a 12-megapixel dual rear camera setup. This time a new wide-angle camera has been given, whose aperture is f/1.6. With this, there is support for sensor optical stabilisation. Night mode has been made better than before. The second lens is also 12 megapixels ultra-wide and has an aperture of f/2.4.